Adamsville (AL) Minor safety Chris Jones, like many of the top players in the state this season, will be playing multiple roles for his team this season on both sides of the ball and the 6-foot, 170-pound athlete is hoping his increased playing time will help him develop in all aspects of his game.

"We're a few days into practice now and it feels great to be back out there working," Jones said. "I'll be playing a little bit of wide receiver and running back in certain situations this year so I've got a little more to do in practice but it's a lot of fun right now."

With the start of the season closing in, Jones is beginning to form his plans on when and where he'll be taking his official visits this fall. For now, all he knows for sure is that he'll be visiting all three of his top choices: Tennessee, Alabama and Florida.

"I know right now my first official visit will be to Tennessee on September 12th but I haven't set up any others yet. I will take officials to Alabama and Florida at some point this season."

"I'll be going to Alabama's scrimmage next Saturday. I really want to take a closer look at the safeties and watch how the coaches work with them and what kind of role they play in that defense. I am also interested to see what kind of talent they have there right now and maybe see how the depth chart lines up at that position."

When it comes to choosing a school, Jones said that how the teams perform on the field this year won't be a particularly important factor as he is more focused on the long-term success of each program than on their immediate record.

"I'm definitely going to watch all three teams this year and see how they perform this year, but at the same time you can't base your decision on just one season. It's a long-term decision and wherever I go, I'm going to be there four or even five years. Making that decision based on how the team does in one single season doesn't really make sense. I'm going to look at the whole picture, where the programs are, where they are headed and how I fit in there."

Meanwhile, Jones hopes to continue to improve his own game this year and become a more college-ready safety by the time he leaves Minor.

"There's a lot I feel I can still improve on right now. I am working on my speed and my ball skills especially right now and I'd also like to get a little more aggressive this season when it comes to man coverage. I think I can bring a lot more to the table there."